Low thumps echoed, followed by moans of pain, but Alexander didn’t take his eyes off the bonfire, captivated by the sputtering sparks and crackling flames.

  He knew he would have to face Her again. It had been his most coveted desire to do so without fear in his heart, to strike at Her deeply and show he was the one in control.

  And he had done so. It had taken surprisingly little effort to enter the temple, and even less to start the slaughter, but the moment he stepped into the prayer room, the moment he saw Her face staring down at him in disappointment, he knew it wasn't yet time for the final confrontation.

  Bishop Umlaut acted exactly as he predicted, ignoring the massacre outside the room to protect Her fires, which allowed the plan to move forward despite the rapid changes he had to make.

  “Do you think we should say something to him?” He overheard the others whisper and had to resist the urge to show his teeth.

  It wasn’t their fault that things turned out the way they did. The resources they were given were simply too limited to deal a mortal blow to the two gods they targeted, and by all accounts, the sacrifices they made to reach their results were minor.

  “Shut the hell up,” Luce, the only decent fighter they managed to recruit from the local cell, replied sharply, though still low enough not to disturb him.

  Alexander couldn’t even muster annoyance at her language. Losing Terentia had been a bigger blow than he’d admit aloud, and it would take him time to fully recover.

  It was her choice, he reminded himself. There hadn’t been much they could have done to save her after she was hit by the full force of that spy’s last-ditch explosion, and turning her into their battering ram was the only way to honor her sacrifice.

  It was her choice, he thought again, but he knew that wasn’t the whole truth. She had been scared, oh so scared. Not of the pain, though that certainly didn’t help, but of the cracks in her soul that couldn’t be sealed.

  She’d been hemorrhaging something that was too vital, something no healing magic could truly mend, at least not without the full support of masters of the craft.

  Did I really need to curse her to such a terrible end? She fulfilled her duty until the very end, but I know her soul is gone. She won't be returning to the World. She’s just gone.

  Another low groan, muted only by the spells holding their captives still, and Alexander decided he’d moped enough.

  He moved back from the fire and turned around, causing everyone to flinch.

  He ignored it.

  “Have you gotten anything useful out of them?” he asked. Thessus, the expert in the field, grimaced and flicked blood off his hands, turning away from the twitching lump that had once been a knight.

  “Nothing we didn’t already know, leader. They were sent out on broad patrols, with no idea why they were assigned to this route. The rest is all guesswork.”

  Alexander grunted. He’d expected that, though he still hoped this group of Penitent Knights, the armed branch of Eztie’s faith, would know how they had been discovered.

  Their flight from Alluria had gone exactly as predicted, and they only needed to make minor adjustments to account for their losses, but so far, none of the interested parties, whether the Duke’s men, the Tower’s mages, or any of the religions, had found them.

  Yet Eztie’s knights kept showing up, despite being nowhere near skilled enough to track them.

  If their sense of injustice is what guides them, there’s not much we can do. I’ve set up the usual protections, which seem to work against everyone else but them. Nothing else I know of would surpass what the Line of Blasphemy provides.

  That tattoo was one of the last to adorn his arms, inked with the blood and emotions of several Penitent Knights, yet it didn’t seem to stop them.

  “Just kill them, then. We don’t want to leave traces for the others to find us.”

  He disliked being on the run, constantly moving between the many hidden bases the Circle had scattered across the West and the wilderness, but he couldn’t ignore the danger of staying still for too long, even if it meant going longer without communicating with the higher-ups.

  As if to prove him wrong, at that very moment, the communication orb in his spatial band—taken from Immanuel before sending him off to his death to keep the Tower mages busy—began buzzing with power, and he dropped the conversation, abruptly moving to the edge of the camp and taking it out.

  The others clearly wanted to know what their next orders would be, but were either too afraid of him or too nervous about the assessment of their operations, since they had failed to complete their goals at the very last minute.

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  “Lord Westcott,” Alexander greeted as he placed the orb on a nearby stone.

  “Alexander,” the man replied, his eyes intense enough to tell him this wouldn’t be as brief and to the point as was his wont. “The final assessment of your operations has been received and examined thoroughly.”

  He nodded, keeping his gaze fixed on the man. He would not bow or cower like many others, but he knew enough about hierarchies to stay silent when his superior was speaking, even if he suspected he wouldn’t like what he had to say.

  “The main goals, which were to sow the seeds of dissent between the forces of Alluria and to rid the world of the blight of the gods, were not fully achieved, but considering the circumstances, enough was done for us to proceed with our plans,” Westcott said, and Alexander had to fight to keep from sagging in relief.

  When he was forced to flee Ulter’s temple without completing the [Ritual of Heavenly Fall], he feared all the other sacrifices they made would be for nothing, but it seemed that wouldn’t be the case.

  “But we had to make some adjustments due to the new situation. We expect increased religious activity in the duchy from now on, which means you will have your pick of the litter. However, I would like you to start heading north. You will have full discretion with the specifics and will soon receive recruits and resources to replace the losses, but the first target we have in mind for you is a little-known temple…”

  Questions bubbled at the back of Alexander’s mind. He longed to ask why they were being moved away from the south, where they could have continued their efforts to cleanse the Penitent Knights, or the West, where Her presence was strongest, but he knew how to be patient.

  It really didn’t matter what he had to do now anyway. One day, he would get his revenge for everything that had been done to him, for all he’d been forced to do, no matter what it cost him.

  “Does that look like a decent stab to you?” Akari growled, slapping the kid’s shoulder to move him back and taking his place.

  Her dagger twirled in her hand before she gripped it tightly and twisted her right hip and leg forward, delivering a strike with enough force to penetrate five inches into the thick hide.

  The slumbering Sleeping Titan’s muscles twitched for all of a moment before settling back into stillness.

  But the shouts of surprise around them revealed how big a deal that was. No one else in town had managed to do more than scratch the surface, and even that had healed soon after.

  Akari had just pierced the skin of a Prestige-tier monster known for its exceptional toughness, and she did it without fancy skills or flashy spells.

  Just good, old-fashioned martial arts. Then again, it’s kind of reductive to call the [Stalking Gait] a simple martial art. This isn’t the type taught to knights to strengthen their path. It’s both a foundational skill, a way of life, and a guiding light to reach Prestige all at once.

  Admittedly, she hadn’t known about that last detail herself until fairly recently, but in her efforts to track down the grassland’s elusive ruler before the dark dwarves could reach it, she had learned a lot.

  And now, she was one step away from Prestige, with only her Feat left to complete.

  If only the damn System hadn’t sent me something this ridiculous. Where is my fight to the death? My long and grueling hunt?

  No, there wouldn't be an epic showdown for her, no matter how much she might have wanted it. When she reached level ninety-nine, she’d known to expect something, and the appearance of a Prestige-tier creature from the low hills was enough to make her blood race.

  It was just that this particular creature had yet to notice her, despite her or anyone else’s efforts.

  “Lady Akari, that was a wonderful display of your strength. Please allow me to draw you a bath so you might rest. I’m sure your next attempt will slay the creature once and for all!” Lona, a girl with a generous heart and even more generous bust, offered, tucking a dark lock behind her ear and giving her bedroom eyes.

  “NO!” a higher, more refined voice immediately shouted. “Lady Akari has promised to teach me swordsmanship!”

  That was Romina, the niece of the local baron, and a fiery redhead who had often caused Akari trouble, especially with her bright blue eyes and the smattering of freckles on her creamy skin.

  Once, having two such beauties would have been a heaven-sent blessing, something she could only dream of in her wildest fantasies.

  Yet now that power was just out of reach, that she needed only to fell one big dumb monster to take it, she couldn’t even find the mental space to be excited about them.

  I need to hurry up and kill this damn thing, or the whole kingdom will find out about it. They’ll write a damn song, and I’ll be forced to spend my entire life listening to the Ballad of the Tall Maiden and the Short Giant played in every tavern!

  Fortunately for her patience, Luka, the kid she had taken the spot of to try her latest experiment, took offense on her behalf and quickly got the girls arguing about where her time should be spent.

  Akari would have sighed, but she was being very sparing with her breath these days, especially since she was still gathering it in her chest, accumulating more and more in preparation.

  She wasn't sure when she would hit her limit, but she suspected it was near. Her limbs tingled as if she had ingested an entire wake-bean plant, and she felt a gradual surge of natural energy flowing through her channels, boosting her strength without any active manipulation.

  As the sun started to set, the villagers of North Bend began wandering away from the Sleeping Titan, having grown used to its enormous presence over the past few days, especially once it was confirmed that the monster wouldn’t move, no matter what they did, and it would stay there for a long time. Possibly even until it turned into a natural hill.

  The last to leave were her two would-be suitors and Luka, who dragged them away, much to the amusement of the soldiers keeping watch over the Titan.

  Akari, on the other hand, stayed quiet for a while, focusing on her breathing because she was pretty sure she had just achieved complete fullness.

  Power surged through her, enough that she feared she might damage her coils if she released it all at once, but given the rewards that awaited if she truly defeated the Titan, she didn’t need to worry about such a fate, as the System would handle any damage as it remade her.

  Hell yes, I knew there was something beyond [Expert!]

  Having received her confirmation, she moved away from the back of the giant, almost gliding as she circled its grey, leathery back, avoiding the trees and bushes growing on its skin, and reached its face.

  Akari took a moment to study her prey. The Sleeping Titan was possibly the largest monster known to humankind, aside from a few legends and tales of what could be found in the underworld or the deep seas. However, it was also the least threatening Prestige-tier creature, as it preferred to sleep and ignore the world.

  As long as nothing truly threatened it, it would continue sleeping for years, even decades, and in some cases, centuries.

  It was vaguely humanoid, though its features were less defined, more like a clay statue molded to resemble a person. Its skin was leathery and known to resist even powerful spells from experts, and it could recover any damage as long as it kept sleeping.

  Akari took one last deep breath, using the charge to finally generate momentum for the power she had been gathering over the past week, and assuming her stance.

  Mana, almost invisible but humming intensely, coalesced around her limbs, and the ground started to tremble as more of it gathered.

  “What the hell is going on?!” One of the soldiers shouted, but Akari didn’t care about them anymore.

  She had eyes solely for her prey and crouched, sharpening her power around her limbs and aiming at the skin covering the Titan’s eyes.

  That would be her entry point. She would then release all she had and pulverize its brain, ending it for good, no matter what it cost to unleash that much power.

  The Titan finally stirred after a week, its massive eyes fluttering open as a deep brain region sensed danger.

  It was too late. Akari exhaled, and the world went white as a true predator’s roar burst from her mouth.